The Edmonton Police Service’s firearms investigation unit is using new technology to connect seized firearms from older cases to other crimes across Canada.
And for firearms analysts on the team like Kayla, whom Global News is identifying only by her first name for security reasons, the volume is significant.
“It’s just a mass amount of firearms coming in,” she said. “It appears to be never-ending. It’ll just keep coming.”
With its up-and-coming machinery like the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS), analysts like Kayla are also receiving clues that can help investigators get one step closer to solving sometimes complicated cases.
Kayla says she’s seen upwards of 600 guns pass through the unit while she’s worked there.
“Everyone here is a scientist at heart,” she said. “There’s a lot of background knowledge that’s required in order to do this work, to actually come to conclusions that are necessary for investigators.”
One case in particular that the unit has evaluated is the guns seized from the Ertale Lounge mass shooting in early 2022. At the scene, the police were able to seize three guns, and later charged two suspects; however, one key player remains outstanding.
According to investigators, his name is Saed Osman.
The night of the shooting
It was a chilly early morning on March 12, 2022, when Imbert George was leaving Edmonton’s Ertale Lounge.
The Middle Eastern-style lounge at 118 Avenue and 124 Street was filled with around 70 patrons enjoying a night out. Investigators believe it was around 2 a.m. local time when George and his wife set out to go home, and bullets began to tear through the club.
Supt. Shane Perka from the Edmonton Police Service described the scene as “mass chaos,” with patrons scrambling to seek cover and avoid the multiple rounds being fired into the club.
“We believe upwards of 70 shots were fired into the front entrance area of the lounge from the front sidewalks,” Perka explained.
“There were bullets recovered from the walls inside of the club, bullets recovered from some of the victims that were transported to hospital. From a forensic standpoint, it was quite a scene.”
Mario Pavlovich, who owned the BigFoot Pub right next door, said the night of the shooting changed everything for him. He was shown surveillance footage from the area that caught the shooting just metres away from his business.
“I remember seeing three guys in dark masks. All three of them had modified handguns, what looked like extended magazines in them,” he said. “(The patrons) all ducked down and they still got shot.”
While six victims were sent to the hospital with varying degrees of injury, tragically, 28-year-old George was killed.
Pavlovich says George and his wife Cassandra were regulars at the BigFoot and remembers George as a friendly and respectful man.
“He was the same age as me. Born in the same year. I often think, you know, it could be me.”
Who is Saed Osman?
Later that evening, the Edmonton police were able to track down a car fleeing the scene and charge two suspects with first-degree murder and discharge of firearm with intent.
From the scene, investigators were also able to recover three guns and announce a third suspect in the shooting: Edmonton’s Saed Osman.
Osman is described as standing at six feet tall and weighing around 180 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and a scar on his right wrist.
Osman has ties to the Go Getem Gang (GGG) and goes by aliases “Styles” and “Guled.”
According to investigators, although he is from Ontario, Osman has strong ties to Edmonton and may still be evading arrest in the city.
In November of 2022, the Edmonton police partnered with the Bolo Program, which stands for “be on the lookout,” to offer a $50,000 reward for anyone with tips leading to Osman’s arrest.
“The circumstances of that crime are deeply heinous,” said Max Langlois, executive director of Bolo. “We’re talking about nothing short of a mass shooting that happened.”
Investigators believe Osman may be armed and is considered dangerous.
Investigating the firearms
More than a year and a half later, investigators continue to look for answers. The three guns recovered from the scene continue to provide answers to the Edmonton Police Service.
“One of the firearms we seized in Ertale Lounge, we were able to link to four other shootings in Ontario; our IBIS instrument and our firearms examination unit,” Insp. Eric Stewart explained.
“That information has since been shared with those investigators in Toronto, and they’re now looking at leads from our file and who was arrested on this to see if there’s any leads on their end.”
Through an analysis of serial numbers, the examination unit was able to make another big discovery.
“We were able to determine that these were U.S.-sourced firearms,” Stewart said. “And we’re able to trace these back to two specific buyers down in Texas, which are still ongoing investigations.”
While investigators continue to search for answers across the border, they urge anyone who has information to come forward. Supt. Perka believes they’re just one tip away from arresting Osman.
“Every single tip that we do receive, we do follow up on,” Perka said. “We’re confident that he will be located and arrested.”
Investigators urge anyone who has any information about Osman’s whereabouts to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-(TIPS) or submit a tip online.
To learn more about the hunt for Saed Osman, tune into Global TV’s brand-new series Crime Beat: Most Wanted. The eight-episode series covering the hunt for Canada’s most wanted individuals airs at 7:30 p.m. local time across the country.